Here's how Azumuta helps Addax Motors with automation on the factory floor

There is no doubt about it: our mobility is becoming electric. In addition to passenger cars, vans and utility vehicles are becoming largely electrified. Extremely handy in cities and towns, but also on vast industrial or recreational sites. Noiseless, energy-friendly and compact. The assets with which Addax rolls down the runway speak for themselves. Combine this with a high degree of finish and choice of materials and you know what the utility fleet of the future looks like. The quality of the finish, the ease of use and comfort make Addax an indispensable tool.

“Electric vans with the target market including: cities and towns, amusement parks, large industrial sites and last-mile delivery. Central to this is the customization to the customer’s needs in terms of bodywork and other options that are sometimes very customer-specific.”

And above all, development, production and assembly are 100% Belgian, 100% ecological. “That is why we have invested in ‘the automated factory floor’ and plan to continue to do so in the future,” says Brecht Landrieux, Assembly Manager at Addax Motors.

In 2011, Westlease started leasing electric vans, where the demand was greater than initially thought. For this purpose, Buddee was founded, a specific branch of Westlease for this type of rental. Buddee used vans that were freely available on the market, but encountered a few problems: weak autonomy, insufficient quality, no reliable after-sales, too little load capacity.

A small service team of Buddee was built up to service the fleet of 120 vans in Benelux and Germany. In 2014 the decision was made to develop an eLUV (Electric Light Urban Vehicle) ourselves and in 2015 Addax was founded to make this happen. Initially the vans were manufactured in Genk, but at the end of 2018 the production line was started up in Deerlijk.

Before Azumuta, Addax started working with a folder of paper work instructions, which were similar in structure to how it is presented to the user on the screen in Azumuta’s software. “There was a need for a transparent and unambiguous working method for assembling the cars that could be easily updated,” says Brecht. “In addition, there was also the need to simplify the registration of certain things. With the move of the production line from Genk to Deerlijk, we saw the opportunity to start with a good basis for the future and the switch was made from paper work instructions to digital work instructions,” he continues.

“When we weren’t working with Azumuta, a lot of things were kept in Excel on a daily basis. Registration of torque values, workers who worked on the cart, recorded time entries. This was extremely labor- and time-intensive! Thanks to the platform, everything is now done automatically in the background, by Azumuta.”

“What is convenient is the two user sides of Azumuta. On the one hand, the administrator’s side, and on the other, the operator’s side. They are both simple, self-explanatory, and both have been positively received by all employees, even those without any experience with computers.”

“The people always come first: it’s they, who create the cars from scratch. Of crucial importance here is that they can do this in safe conditions and with correct tools. I think it is important in the first place to implement the principles of lean manufacturing for process design. Digitalization and automation can add tremendous value here.”

Since working with Azumuta, Addax can once again focus 100% on customer orders. But what has changed? “We experienced some turnover around the summer period and Azumuta has greatly simplified the learning process for the new people. With us, instructions are maintained and refined throughout the year. Whenever there are ambiguities, they are systematically clarified.

As a result, the instructions are a living document with the latest state of the art. It is ideal to be able to offer this basis to both new people and to those who have been working there for some time and need to be alerted to novelties or minor adjustments,” explains Brecht. Now our flow is much easier, even people who don’t speak Dutch can see the work instructions in their native language. With us, this feature is gratefully used.”

“What I like most about Azumuta is their personal and quick follow-up. Everything is discussed, the implementation of new features, discussing how things are best handled, the initial import of the existing Powerpoint work instructions, etc.”

The founders of Addax Motors like to think ahead and Addax Motors will launch its new homologated electric commercial vehicle N1 by the end of the year. “In this new version, more attention has been paid to safety, quality and, above all, comfort,” says Brecht Landrieux. “Among other things, the new Addax MTN recently passed a crash test required for N1 homologation.”